PokéEds
by Tales-of-a-Sloth
Summary: A crossover between Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy and Pokémon. After finding an odd object in the forest near their little suburb, the Eds find themselves transported to a new land full of amazing creatures. What will happen to them? Read to find out. ON HOLD
1. Prologue: Just Beyond your Imagination

**TB**: Hey there guys:) Random enough for ya? Yes, this is my new story, a crossover between "Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy" and "Pokémon". If you like the concept, read on, but if you don't like it, then don't read it :P Simple as that. Enjoy!

P.S. I'm kind of experimenting with different writing styles, so bare with me if this doesn't look right. –x–,

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy, Pokémon, or some of the OCs owned respectably by my good pal Quina's Frog Eating Homie who guest star in this. I only maybe own some OCs I thought up :D**_

-----

Everyone has a journey they must take, a quest to find a purpose, a destiny to be fulfilled.

Right on the end of your imagination, there lays a world unlike anything you've ever seen, a world where mystical creatures with incredible powers live. This is the world of Pokémon.

Pokémon come in many different shapes, sizes, types and kinds. People normally keep them as close companions or pets, but they can be so much more than that. People who catch Pokémon can train them to take part in battles that tests skill, wits, and bonds between Pokémon and their trainers. These battles are appropriately called Pokémon battles.

Some who take part in battles dream of some day becoming great Pokémon masters, but none more so than a young preteen who resides in the town of Little Root Town…

Ah but, I'm getting ahead of myself; for our story does not begin in Little Root Town, but in a place far away from the small town, a place where a sinister plot is taking hold…

-----

In the far away place in question, a place called Rustboro City to be exact, a middle aged man stood nervously leaning against the wall of an dark, dank alleyway.

The man had scraggly, graying auburn hair, and chestnut brown eyes that were covered by thick spectacles. He wore a simple white collared shirt, a red and blue stripped necktie, and tan slacks under a big white lab coat with a few pens in the front pocket. In his right hand as a decent sized briefcase.

He twiddled with his fingers impatiently and kept looking up and down the alleyway he was standing in, as if he was waiting for someone. He checked his wrist-watch and rubbed the back of his neck worriedly.

The man jumped at a sudden sound, a trashcan falling over followed by a grunt of pain and some low swearing. The man stared oddly at the trashcan until someone got up from behind it, brushing himself off (having gotten dirty from his fall).

It was a young man in his teens who wore an odd uniform. It consisted of a black sweater, slacks and a black barrette (the French hat) that his short light green hair stuck out of. Also, there was the big, red R on the front of the shirt.

"So, I see ya came on time, pops." The teen in the uniform said in a thick Brooklyn accent.

"Y-yes, I was worried that you wouldn't come." The man in the lab coat said with a nod nervous. He held out the briefcase. "B-but I brought the items you asked for."

The teen smirked. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a thick role of some kind of paper. It looked kind of like money. The man in the lab coat grimaced, regret written all over his face.

"Alright, let's get on wit 'dis. I gotta get back ta HQ as quickly as possible." The New Yorker snapped.

The two stepped forward and exchanged their items. The man in the lab coat took the money, and the man in the uniform took the briefcase. He then opened the briefcase and closed it again with a widened smirk. The man in the lab coat looked at him worriedly.

"I'm surprised pops. Ya brought every'ting you said ya'd bring." The man said.

The man in the lab coat looked sadly at the money in his hand. "Now you know that I didn't want to do this." He said, half to assure himself, "I just-"

"Yeah, yeah. Ya just needed da fundin', keep bread on da table, keeping yer family safe, yadda yadda yadda." The New Yorker said dismissively. He then grinned at the man, "Well, rest assured Professor Wood; Team Rocket will put yer newest invention ta good use."

And with that, the man in black disappeared, leaving a very worried and self-ashamed professor. He hung his head in shame and regret as he slowly left the alley to return home.

"Oh, what have I done…? What have I done?" He asked himself dismally.

-----

Later, the teen who had just acquired the briefcase could be seen in front of some sort of large establishment. It looked like a normal building, but like most things in the world, there was more to it than met the eyes.

The young man stepped forward, and knocked on the door three times. Suddenly, a key-card console came out of the wall next to the door. The man pulled out a key-card with a big red R on it, and swiped it along the console. Then a hand analyzer appeared from the wall as well. The man put his hand on the panel to analyze his finger prints. Then a computer monitor came out, along with a microphone

"_State name and squad._" An electronic voice came from the computer.

"Name, Butch. Squad, Sapphire Blue." He replied into the microphone.

"_Processing…_" The electronic voice paused. There was a dinging sound, followed by a keyboard appearing under the monitor. "_Name and Squad approved. Input password._"

Butch nodded and quickly typed something "Reaching for the Stars" on the keyboard and pressed Enter.

"_Processing…_" There was another pause to process the data, "_Password approved. Welcome back, Bud of Squad Sapphire Blue._" The electronic voice said.

The man's eye twitched angrily. "Dat's Butch!" He snapped at the computer system in the wall.

Then the door opened with a loud whooshing sound, showing the dark interior of the building. Butch smirked, picked up the briefcase, and stepped in.

After walking quickly down a few hallways and up an elevator or two, Butch opened a door labeled "The Boss", and stepped inside. He stopped once he reached the middle of a large dark room. He stood up start and saluted with his free hand.

"Butch of Squad Sapphire Blue reporting fer duty, Boss." He said.

The lights flashed on, revealing hat room was actually a large office. In the office was a few guards in the same uniform as Butch, a large portrait was a sinister looking man with a large cat-like Pokémon, called a Persian, and a big desk with the same man in the portrait sitting behind it, except he was mostly hiding in a conveniently placed shadow.

The man (let's just call him "Boss" for now) smirked. "Did you get them?" He drawled.

"Yes, sir!" Butch nodded, holding up the suitcase, "He handed dem over, just like ya said he would."

"Good…" Boss said he took the suitcase from Butch and opened it with a click, "Thanks to our little mad scientist, this will make me unstoppable. No one will stand in my way as I take over the world…"

Butch gave the man a confused look. "Uh… sir?" He asked, not that the man payed him any mind.

"Heh heh… all the pieces are in place. All that's left is to decide who makes the first move; black, white, blue or red? And with this, I'll win this game of chess…" Boss sneered with a smirk, "Checkmate."

Boss then started laughing. It started out as snickers, but eventually grew more maniacal and became a loud, evil cackle. His Persian purred as its master laughed maniacally. Butch seemed to be the only one in the room who was kind of weirded out by the laughing. Just what was so funny?

-----

Later that night, back in Rustboro City, we come upon a small apartment complex. Most of the lights were still on, signaling that some people in it were still awake and others had already turned in for the night.

The front door to the apartments opened up, and out stepped a girl, sweeping some dirt out of the house. The girl wiped her forehead and sighed in content at her work.

She looked to be about in her late preteens, early teens. She had short, chin-length hunter green hair that looked more like a boy's hairstyle, and chestnut brown, almost red eyes that were almost covered behind her big, oval glasses. She wore a dark chartreuse T-shirt with two black, vertical lines going down its right side, hunter green Caprii pants, and a pair of black and white tennis shoes.

The girl looked out of the house, searching for something. She sighed. "I guess dad's gonna be pulling another all nighter tonight at the lab." She said sadly, "I wish he'd stop that. It's not healthy."

"Sissy!" A young voice called from inside, making the girl jump.

A young boy then came out of the house. He looked to be about seven or eight years old. He had green hair like the girl, only a much lighter shade, like grass green. He also had the same eye color as the girl as well. He wore a small yellow Jersey with a lightning bolt logo over a white T-shirt, tan cargo pants that looked a bit big for him, and plain white sneakers. In his hands was a small Pokémon plushy, a Pikachu to be exact, clutched tightly to his chest.

"Is papa back yet?" The boy asked, his innocent eyes wide with hope.

The girl sighed. "No Jeremy. He's still probably at work." She said.

The hope went away from the boy's eyes and he sighed sadly. "I wish he'd stop doing this. He needs to spend more time away from that scary place." He said.

The girl looked surprised at the boy, and then laughed in spite of herself. She knelt down and ruffled the little boy's hair.

"Wow, only seven and you're already wiser than dad." She smiled warmly.

The boy smiled. He giggled proudly and did the peace sign.

Just then, the two youths heard footsteps coming their way. They turned around, and there was Professor Wood, solemnly trudging up to the apartment. The teen girl and young boy brightened up at the sight of him.

"Dad!" They both exclaimed, running over to embrace their father, nearly knocking him over in the process.

"Oh! Oh please now you two." Professor Wood said as he hugged them back, "I'm getting too old now. You need to be more careful when you tackle me like that."

"Aw, papa you're no older than thirty-nine!" The boy teased.

The old man smiled wryly and knelt down to the boy's level. "Compared to you, Jeremy, that's still pretty old." He said with a ruffle of the boy's green hair.

The girl smiled. "C'mon dad, let's get in here before we all catch colds." She said.

Professor Wood nodded and followed his kids into the apartment complex and up to their 'house'.

It was a quaint three room apartment: a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom that the three shared (and not to forget the three bathrooms. _Very_ important.)

Wood smiled with a content sigh. "Be it ever so humble…" He trailed off.

It was then that the girl noticed that there was no briefcase in her father's hands. He would normally carry one around him like it was his last life-line (although he never showed his kids what was inside it).

"Hey dad?" She asked, "Did you forget your briefcase at the Devon Corp. labs?"

The professor flinched at the mention of the briefcase, which he had traded to the Team Rocket member, mind you. He hung his head slightly, trying not to let his kids notice his ashamed look. They looked concernedly at him, but he turned to them with a smile.

"I may have, but I didn't have any work to bring home tonight, so it's not that terrible I guess for one night." He said, "I going to go shower up and then we'll all go to bed, alright?"

The girl knew her father was just putting on a façade, but she also knew however that he didn't want to talk about. She just had a knack for telling that sort of thing about people. Call it her sixth sense.

"Okay dad." She nodded, "I'll get Jeremy ready then."

Professor Wood nodded with a grateful smile and started departing to shower off, but the girl suddenly stopped him.

"Wait dad!" She called at the last second, stopping her father in the middle of the bathroom doorway. He looked back in a start. She smiled warmly.

"I'm glad you came home tonight." She said happily, "Jeremy and I missed you when you worked all night shifts."

Professor Wood seemed startled by the comment, but then smiled back like a proud father would. "Thank you Jenna." And with that, he went into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Jeremy tugged his sister's pant leg and looked up at her with curious chestnut-brown, almost red eyes. Jenna smiled down at her little brother and ruffled his grass green hair again.

"C'mon Jeremy, let's get you ready for bed." She said as she led him to the bedroom.

"Aw, but I'm not sleepy yet Sissy!" Jeremy whined, rubbing his tired eyes. Jenna smirked and rolled her eyes sagely.

In the bathroom, Professor Wood slumped quietly against the closed door and grimaced with guilt. He stuffed his hand in his pocket and pulled out the money he had exchanged for the briefcase. He closed his tear brimming eyes and looked away in shame. He knew that if he told his children what had happened that night, they would never forgive him…

-----

Meanwhile, just a brief bike ride away from Rustboro City, lied the small town of clean air known as Vendanturf Town.

As the moon started to climb in the sky, its pale light cast itself onto this single town splendidly. There was only one person admiring this phenomenon however, a young girl who was sitting on a hill near her house on the outskirts of the town.

She looked to be in her early preteens, maybe no older than eleven. She had long, waist-length, wavy black hair, and brilliantly bright ocean blue eyes. She wore as short sleeved blue shirt with a white hood connected to the back, dark blue fingerless gloves, a pair of plain white shorts, and black boots with silver zippers down the sides.

The girl pulled her knees up to her chest and sighed fondly at the moon. It looked especially lovely tonight, but even the beauty of the moon didn't distract her from what was on her mind.

Recently, she had moved to this town because she had been very sickly since birth, as well as a few other reasons… and they say that the crisp clean air of Vendanturf town does wonders for the sickly. Well, she couldn't deny it; the town's clean air had really done wonders for her health, even though she was still a bit shy and less lively than some of the other kids who lived in the town.

Yet even despite that, she felt… incomplete, even in this lovely town she owed so much to. It felt like something was missing.

She sighed and leaned back in the tall grass. She also heard word that her cousin, who suffered from the same frailty as she, was moving in with them from Petalburg. Now, she loved her cousin, but she was worried that said cousin would have some trouble with fitting in the town quickly. She resolved that she would be the first friend her close relative made here.

She sighed. "But that may be hard for me to do… The only friends I've ever made are Tidus and Rikku. Besides, what do I know about being a good friend?" She asked herself, her voice timid and quiet.

She sat back up and looked at the night sky.

"What do I do…?" She asked hopelessly.

"Tria!"

The girl jumped in surprise at the sound of her name and turned around. Two teen were running up to her, looking relieved at the sight of her.

One was a teenage boy with blonde spiky hair and blue eyes. He wore a pair of black overalls that showed his upper chest and had yellow sleeves, a white hood, one pant leg that was longer than the other, and various zippers on it, not to mention a shoulder guard on the left arm, black fingerless gloves and brown combat boots. He was Tidus, one of Tria's friends.

The other was a teenage girl with blonde hair tied up in a high, loose ponytail, and oddly swirled green eyes. She wore an orange sleeveless sweater, green shorts, long brown gloves with buckles and belts going along it, and brown boots that went to her knees. She was Rikku, Tria's other friend.

Tidus gasped for breath when he and Rikku had finally reached Tria. Tria looked up at them, surprised and confused as to why her friends were here.

"Phew… We finally found you Tria." Rikku sighed in relief.

"Where have you been?" Tidus asked sternly, a bit wiped out from the running.

Tria blinked. "Were… were you both looking for me?" She asked timidly.

Tidus sighed in exasperation. "Of course we were looking for you Tria. You need to stop sneaking out like that. You had me and Rikku worried sick." He said.

Tria gasped in surprise and sighed sadly with her head hung. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to worry you guys… I just wanted to see the full moon." Tria whimpered.

Rikku looked up and gasped in awe. "Wow… what a pretty full moon it is." She said with a warm smile, "I can see why you wanted to come out and look."

Tria returned her friend's smile. Tidus sighed and shook his head at the two girls.

"C'mon you two." Tidus said, "Let's head inside before we catch cold, alright?"

Rikku turned to him and nodded with her usual chipper smile. "Let's go then, shall we Tria?" She asked her younger friend.

With a nod, the preteen got up, brushed herself off, and followed her friends back home.

"…"

"Huh?" Tria stopped for a moment to look back. She thought she heard an odd sound, a rustling of some kind. She then looked at the moon and gasped, rubbing her eyes to make sure they were working right. It may have been the trick of the light, but for a second, she could've sworn she saw a small silhouette on the moon…

"Hey Tria!" Tidus called from up ahead, "You coming or what?"

"Oh! Uh… yes, I'm coming!" She called, sprinting to catch up, "Wait up!"

Tria looked back over her shoulder, the picture of the silhouette still stuck in her mind. None-the-less, she brushed the thought aside as she and Tidus entered his house. Tidus was after all the one who took her in when she first came to Vendanturf town, and she was very thankful for it. Rikku waved them goodbye as she returned to her house.

Before going inside and quietly shutting the door behind her, Tria took one last fleeting look at the moon.

"What… what was that shadow I saw…?" She asked herself quietly.

-----

Meanwhile, we come upon a small town with a few houses, a pond nearby that stood next to a large wood, and oddly enough, a small laboratory that stood near the outskirts of the town. This was none other than Little Root Town, the home of the one and only Professor Birch, the well-renowned Pokémon scientist second only to Professor Oak of Pallet Town. However, this well-known eccentric scientist was not the only significant resident of this town.

Just today, a new family had moved into the neighborhood. It was a family of three, a mother, a father, and a daughter, the Ankoku Family.

Speaking of which, the family was currently busy unpacking their belongings into their new house, well two-out-of-the-three anyways. Let's look in on them, shall we?

In the two-story house, we find man busy carrying boxes of dishes and silverware into the kitchen with some muscular Pokémon called Machoke.

He was a well built adult man with silvery white hair grown out to shoulder-length, and teal-blue eyes. He wore a yellow and white short-sleeved hoodie, long white wrist bands, baggy jeans with many pockets, and big black and white sneakers. He was the man of the house and long time friend of Professor Birch, Riku Ankoku.

Riku set down the heavy box and wiped his sweaty brow. "Phew, man that's heavy." He said, "Hey Zoey! Wanna me lend a hand here?"

Loud footsteps could be heard coming from upstairs. Next, a young girl walked downstairs and quickly the kitchen, gasping for breath.

"Yeah dad! Sorry, I was busy some getting boxes unpacked upstairs." She said apologetically.

The girl looked like she was about in her preteens, about twelve. She had cerulean blue hair that went only a bit past shoulder length, and dark grass green eyes. She wore a thinly knit, dark blue sweater that went to about mid-hip, aqua-colored jeans with a white horizontal zig-zag pattern that went along its right side, and silver and blue tennis shoes. She was Riku's daughter, Zoey Ankoku.

"Don't worry about it, Zoey." Riku said with a smile, "I just needed some help with putting the silverware away."

"Oh! Well that I can definitely handle." Zoey said with a chipper in her voice.

Riku laughed in amusement as his daughter went to work with unpacking the spoons and forks to put them away in the drawers.

"Well, aren't you a ball of energy tonight." He said with a chuckle.

"Well sure I am." Zoey said, "Tomorrow is a big day after all."

"Ah yes, tomorrow is the day you officially become a Pokémon trainer." Riku smiled.

"Sure is!" Zoey cheered.

"Wow Zoey," Riku said, ruffling his daughter's hair, "You're growing up so fast. So, do you know what kind of Pokémon you want from Professor Birch?" He asked.

Zoey put on a thoughtful face. "Hmm… Well, maybe a Torchic, or a Mudkip, or a Treeko, or maybe… I dunno! They're all so cool!"

Riku chuckled in amusement. Zoey was so like her mother, a cheerful spirit and a lover of Pokémon.

"Hey, you wanna check out the tube? See if mom is on?" Riku asked.

Zoey stopped putting stuff away and smiled brightly. "Wow, the cable's up already? That was fast." She said.

"Yep, Machoke do quick work, don't they?" Riku said as he and Zoey walked into the living room.

There were still boxes in the living room, but there was a sofa and a regular-sized TV set up on a large green carpet over the hard wood. The Machoke had finished setting down all the boxes and left for the day… err, night in this case.

Riku picked up a remote control clicked it to the television. It turned on with a flash on the screen, and there was the local News Channel. The interview lady was currently busy talking to the viewing public (Zoey and Riku included possibly). Riku and Zoey watched intently.

"And you saw it here folks, our local Petalburg Gym leader has once again astounded audiences everywhere with another amazing victory!" The anchorwoman announced, "Stay tuned tomorrow when we go look for more up and coming trainers and gym leaders. Until next time, this is reporter Gabby Wilson signing off!"

Then the show went to commercial. Riku and Zoey sighed in disappointment.

"Aww… Just missed her." Zoey whined.

"Well, don't worry about it Zoey. You can go meet her in person once you become a trainer and get enough badges to challenge her yourself." Riku assured, making Zoey feel a little better.

Zoey nodded. "Yeah, you're right dad." She said, and then yawned tiredly.

"Now young lady, I think it's high time you went to bed." Riku said as he and Zoey went upstairs to their bedrooms, "Don't want you to be tired for tomorrow."

Zoey let out another yawn and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Okay dad." She said with a tired smile.

Later, we find Zoey dressed in her pajamas and getting into bed. She got comfy under the covers and stared up at her bedroom ceiling, too excited to sleep even though she was tired.

"Just think… tomorrow I get my first Pokémon, the reason why we moved here from Petalburg. I can't wait…" She said to herself, "I hope that… one day I'll be… just as good as mom… that'd be… so cool…"

Zoey smiled blissfully as she drifted off into peaceful slumber, dreaming of the next day and the adventures she'd soon have on her journey.

Riku stood in the doorway of his daughter's room and shook his head with a proud smile. He then quietly closed the door and walked off to bed himself.

-----

Later that night, everyone was asleep, the young trainers of the town excited about receiving their starter new Pokémon the next day. All were dreaming peacefully, except for one lone figure, who was running to the woods that stood near the village.

It appeared t be a tall woman, but also… not a woman at the same time. She wore a hooded cloak, but it was easy to her flowing white gown, pure white skin, green legs and short, bright green hair.

This odd woman took one last look at the village before turning away sadly, and disappearing into the woods.

"Please, let this work," She whispered as she disappeared into the night, "Oh, I hope that I'm not it's not too late…"

Before she disappeared entirely, a speck of light fell behind her. One would've sworn it looked like… a single tear.

-----

**TB**: Well, there you go. :D That's the prologue. We'll meet our heroes, the Eds, in the next chapter. Zoey, Tria, and Jenna are all owned by Quina's Frog Eating Homie :) BTW, Professor Wood and Jeremy are my OCs, and they are essential to the plot. Can you guess who "Boss", or the mysterious cloaked woman are? If you can, you get a pixel cookie 8D. I'll give you a hint for the woman: she isn't Zoey's mom.

**Henry**: And for those of you reading who are wating for her to finished her other stories don't worry (grabs TB by the ear -OUCH-) I'll see to it personally that she finishes them before she continues this.

**TB**: (sweatdropping and cringing in pain) Ouch ouch ouch! Okay! I'll get right on it already!

**Zoey, Tria, and Jenna**: Read and Review!


	2. Chapter 1: An Ordinary Day? No Way

**TB**: Here's the next chapter, where the Eds make an interesting discovery, and find out that curiosity did much more than kill the cat. Enjoy!

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It was early morning in the town of Peach Creek. The sun was rising, birds were chirping, and Sarah was screaming up a storm at her older brother for leaving his sock in her bedroom again.

Yep, just your average morning in Peach Creek.

But then, something happened that didn't seem quite as normal, at least by Cul-de-Sac standards. A heavy mist hung in the air around where the suburb's local creek was found. Out of the mist, one would have sworn they had heard… a woman… weeping.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and a split second later the light vanished, leaving a small, red and white ball in the tall grass…

"Please, this has to work…" The feminine voice said in an almost inaudible whisper, "You may be our only hope now…"

-----

_An oddly unnatural fog hung heavily in the air. Although it was thick, one could still make out the silhouette of a… young girl. _

"Who are you…?_" A young man's voice asked, as if echoing in the mist. _

_The 'girl' turned to where the voice was coming from, her image becoming more clear through the fog. She wiped away something from her face, something wet. She smiled sadly and then tried to say something, or at least it appeared that way. Oddly enough, no words came from her mouth. _

"What do you want?_" The young man asked. _

_The girl motioned the boy to step forward. The boy obliged and walked towards her subconsciously. He kept walking, his feet making now sound as he stepped on the dew-covered grass. _

"Why do I… feel like I know you?_" The boy asked in his head. _

_He was about a few feet away from the girl, when he started feeling a terrible pain. It started in his head, but then coursed throughout his whole body. It was terrible, almost unbearable. The pain ripped apart at his chest and spilt his mind in two. It eventually became too much for him, and he started blacking out. The vision of the girl slowly dissolved from his view as he fell on the ground, unconscious. _

-----

The alarm clock went off.

Eddy's snapped open.

Sweat dripping down his brow, he scrunched up his face with an annoyed groan and dove deeper into the confines of his bed sheets. Aw man, why did he have to wake up so early in the morning? On a Saturday no less! Man, that stunk. Maybe he could try going back to sleep.

But much to Eddy's chagrin, the alarm clock was still ringing. It didn't show any signs of stopping either. Eddy tried to ignore it but after a few painful seconds, Eddy couldn't take its high-pitched wiling anymore.

"Shut up!" He yelled hoarsely. He raised his hand high over the god-forsaken contraption and slammed a fist on his alarm clock, ending its metallic life prematurely with a loud _bam_.

Knowing it would be useless to back to sleep, Eddy opened his eyes only slightly. They looked terribly bloodshot and baggy. He groaned loudly as he attempted to sit up, but ended up lying back down due to his fatigue and splitting headache.

Eddy sighed and stared up at the mirror-ball that hung on his ceiling.

"That weird dream again…" Eddy thought out loud, "Why… why do I keep havin' it? I don't even know that girl…"

That stupid dream. Stupid fog, stupid girl and her stupid crying. Why did he have to ave it now? For cryin' out loud, it was Saturday! Can't Eddy ever get a flippin' break? No, of course not. His life was never that easy, otherwise his scams would work. _Great._ Stupid dream's a _great_ to start off his stupid day. Just _great._ Stupid crying girl that gave him a stupid start o the day. Why was she cryin' anyway? Wait, did he care?! No way! He had no time to worry about this stupid dream girl… wait… that sounded so wrong in his head. As if it wasn't aching enough already.

With another sigh, Eddy finally roughly tossed the sheets off him and sat up successfully. He groaned tiredly as he stretched his stiff arms.

"Ah well. Guess I better get ready for today's scam." He mumbled as he trudged to his bathroom to shower off.

-----

Double D shot up from his sleeping position, his breathing fast and shallow and his eyes wide. He swiveled in place on his bed, searching left and right for even he had no idea what. He found himself back in his bedroom, just the way he left it the previous night.

After the sock-headed Ed took a minute or two to calm himself, he wiped his sweaty forehead and hunched over, his knees arched up under the bed sheets.

"That woman again…" Double D mumbled miserably, massaging his paining temples.

He looked out of his bedroom window and sighed morosely.

Oh dear… oh dear, oh dear. Why? Just why did he have that dream again? That was the gosh-darned seventh time! Yes, he had kept track. He had good reason too. He hadn't been able to sleep all week, which really cut into his… ahem, as he puts it, his personal resume. And the worst part of it was that it looked so real. That poor girl, so sad and yet she had such a kind air to her… wait, what was he thinking?! She was just a part of a dream. A series of mental images only accessible when sleeping, affected by lack of sleep and what you eat, nothing more… right?

That _pain_ though… felt even more real than anything else. Double D suppressed a shudder.

"Oh… dear." With a quick massage of his aching forehead, Double D got out of bed and went off to start his day.

"Might as well not let Eddy and Ed wait on my account." He said to himself as he went to his closet to get his shower supplies (a new sock-hat included).

After a short silence, if anyone else had been home that day, they would have heard Double D say, "I have _got_ to stop talking to myself."

-----

Ed's loud and garbled up snoring penetrated the (unusually) quiet air of his house. Although it sounded like the boy was sleeping peacefully in his filth-ridden basement, his snores were interrupted by the occasional moan and whine, signaling he wasn't in fact sleeping as peacefully as he seemed to be.

Then suddenly, there was a loud knock on his door, followed by a _slam_, a signal that said door had been thrown open.

It was Ed's little sister, Sarah, who didn't look happy one bit. She growled (one would swear she was literally foaming at the mouth) and marched up to her brother's bed, only dressed in her pink nightgown. She took a deep breath and released a big, loud…

"_ED!_"

Ed screamed in a start and fell out of his bed, landing in an awkward heap on the hard floor. He sat up, blinking and sweating, trying to get over the shock.

"'Bout time you got up, you idiot!" Sarah said rather loudly, "Mom said that you have to take me to Jimmy's today. Wasn't that sweet of me to remind you?" She added in a fake sweet tone.

Ed stared at his sister in puzzlement. He blinked a few times before breaking out in his trademark grin.

"Do not fret, oh lovable baby sister of mine!" Ed exclaimed, "For I, Ed, shall make sure to bring you to Jimmy's on time!"

Sarah deadpanned and rolled her eyes. "You better. And take your stinkin' sock outta my room while you're at it!" Sarah added as she stormed out of Ed's room.

Ed sat on the floor for a few minutes, trying to think of what to do next. Then Ed remembered the dream he had before he woke up, and sighed in a sad manner.

That poor girl. She kinda looked like a princess from one of Ed's comic books, but only much sadder. Princesses weren't supposed to cry. They were supposed to be saved by the knights in shining armor! Yeah! But… she _still_ cried, and Ed felt so bad for her. Ed may have been as thick as reinforced concrete, maybe even more so, but that didn't mean he was oblivious to other people's pain. He was more aware of others pain than even that of his own. May explain his intense tenacity and endurance.

Then, a thought registered in his mind. He had to get ready to 'escort' Sarah to Jimmy's and then meet up with Eddy and Double D. Now was not the time to focus on the past.

Ed smiled and stood up, a little tangled up in his bed sheets. He ran to the hallway outside his room and dove into his dryer to change.

"Skip to my Lou, my darling!" He exclaimed in glee from within the titanium box he rarely used for actually _washing_ his clothes.

-----

Later on that day, maybe around noon-ish, Eddy and Double D could be found pushing a wagon full of supplies to the creek in the woods. Well, at least Double D was. Eddy was, as he so eloquently put it, _observing_.

As he _observed_, he tapped his foot, impatiently waiting for their third party. "Where the heck is he?" Eddy asked.

"Have some patience Eddy." Double D grunted in exhaustion as he pushed the wagon. He sat down and wiped his brow, "I'm sure Ed will arrive soon."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, he better, 'cause this is, if I do say so myself, the greatest scam ever! But we need Lumpy to make it work!" Eddy added, rubbing his hands together deviously.

"That's not saying much." Double D muttered sarcastically as he went back to pushing, "Speaking of which, what precisely is all of this equipment for?"

"I'll tell you about it when Ed get's here." Eddy said curtly.

The two preteens continued working in silence, only interrupted by the occasional grunt from Double D as he pushed hand heaved the wagon of supplies. Eddy was really beginning to get impatient, and Double D's lack of ability to help with his scam didn't lighten his mood either.

"C'mon! Hurry up already, would ya?" Eddy snapped, "We need to get this stuff to the creek before next _century!_"

Double D sighed in fatigue and slumped against the equipment. "I'm doing… the best I can Eddy." Double D wheezed, "You know very darn well that I'm not the most physically suited for this sort of thing."

Eddy sighed in annoyance and rubbed his temples. "Yeah, you're right. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

Double D gave his short friend a surprised look, not expecting an apology from his regularly impulsive friend, well not such a quick one anyways. He was usually much more stubborn than that.

"Eddy?" Double D asked in concern, "Is something bothering you?"

Eddy snapped at an embarrassed attention, trying to salvage himself. "N-no! Of course not!" He stammered, "W-what gave you that idea?"

"Well, you seemed troubled about something. It' not every day I get such an apology from you without an argument." Double D said, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah… I-I'm fine." Eddy said forcefully.

In truth, he was not exactly alright or fine. Eddy knew he was lying. Double D was right. He was indeed troubled by something. His dream. Don't get him wrong now, he wanted to tell Double D about it, get it off of his chest. But Eddy was never very open about his worries or feelings. He just thought that Double D would think he was crazy, or just not understand. Could you blame him?

"Well, if you say so Eddy." Double D said, worry and concern in his voice. Double D's jade green eyes looked downcast at the ground.

Little did Eddy know that Double D would have probably been able to understand Eddy's worry. He was in fact having the same kind of dream trouble. Double D had been thinking about it or a few days now, but of course, Double D would never admit it either. No need for his friends to worry for his sake.

Then the two boys heard a series of loud thumping sounds that made them jump. At first it was low, but then it started to get louder, as if something was coming their way. They searched for the source of the noise. They didn't have to look for long…

"Eddy! Double D!"

… For both Eddy and Double D were tackled to the ground by a familiar unibrowed companion. The two Eds groaned in pain under the third party's great weight. Their assaulter laughed his trademark dopey giggle and bounced playfully on top of them.

"What's up guys?" Ed asked innocently.

"Ed…" Double D gasped in pain as Ed bounced, "Please get off… You're crushing my… diaphragm…!"

"Oh!" Ed said with a nod. He got off his pals, giving them the chance to breathe again. Ed only smiled cheerily, "Are we having fun yet?"

Eddy gritted his teeth, fire burning in his ice-blue eyes. Ironic, no? "Oh… you'll have fun, _healing_ after I'm through with you!" He yelled.

Eddy cracked his knuckles as he got back up and started marching menacingly towards Ed, ready to thrash the Lump. Thankfully, Double D managed to get up and step between to two before a brawl broke out.

"N-now now gentlemen, this isn't the time for fighting." Double D reasoned nervously.

Eddy snarled under his breath. He grumbled angrily and crossed his arms, seething with contempt. Ed just spaced out confusedly, his hazel brown eyes blinking in confusion. Double D sighed in defeat. Sometimes his friends could be so difficult to deal with.

However, Ed had a good reason for spacing out. He was thinking (he thinks?) about his dream about that woman. Now, not much bothered Ed, but this was one of those exceptions. He would have told his friends about it, but he figured they wouldn't believe him, that it was one of his 'Ed-isms'.

"Now that Ed has decided to join us," Double D said, "Care to enlighten us on this scam of yours, Eddy?"

Eddy perked at the mention of the scam, and his original self returned. "Alright Sock-head, now picture this. We're gonna…"

As Eddy and Double D discussed about the day's scam, Ed continued to stare off into space. As his eyes wandered aimlessly around the trees ad tall blades of grass in Peach Creek's local woods, they eventually fell upon a nearby patch of overgrown grass. Ed cocked a quizzical eyebrow. He thought (again, he thinks?) he saw something shining in the grass…

"Are you sure that it will succeed Eddy?" Double D asked skeptically, "Now, I can understand holding a camp-out, but inviting the entire Cul-de-Sac? What if no one comes?"

Ed cocked his head to the side and let curiosity get the better of him. He walked over, Eddy and Double D not noticing, and kneeled next to the patch of grass…

"Why do you gotta question _everything_, Sock-head?" Eddy asked exasperatedly, "For once, can't you be a little more confident that everything will work fine?"

"I will if or when our scams _start_ working." Double D said sarcastically. Eddy glared daggers at the sock-headed Ed.

Ed reached down, and picked up the little bobble he saw shining in the grass. It was the oddest thing he'd ever seen. It was a little half-red, half-white ball with a small button on a black stripe that went down its middle.

"Well, why don't you just help out for once, and maybe it will work!" Eddy snapped.

Double D gasped indignantly. "Are you suggesting that it's my fault our scams never work?" He asked defiantly.

"Well, if the sock fits…" Eddy muttered. Double D rewarded him with a hurt glare.

"Guys!" Ed yelled in his friends' ears cheerfully, nearly making them go deaf, "Look what I found!"

Once Eddy and Double D took a minute to make sure their eardrums weren't burst open, they turned to Ed, and saw the red and white ball in his outstretched hands. The two Eds blinked in surprise at the object. Curious, the other two Eds stepped closer to get a better look.

It was indeed odd. Neither Eddy nor Double D had ever seen anything like it before. Double D took the ball from Ed and rolled it around in his hands, observing it intently.

"Intriguing… It seems to be made of metal, but has some characteristics of a plastic polymer." Double D muttered aloud.

"And not to mention a duck!" Ed said randomly.

"Yawn." Eddy said dryly. Double D and Ed disregarded the comment and continued to observe the strange ball.

"Fascinating… I've never seen anything quite like this in my entire life." Double D awed.

"It's cool, huh?" Ed said.

"More like useless." Eddy mumbled, "Go put that hunk of bologna where you found it Ed."

"Aw, but it's shiny Eddy." Ed whined.

"Ed," Double D said suspicion notable in his tone, "Where exactly did you find this, anyway?"

Ed pointed to the small patch of grass where he had found the ball. Double D walked over to get a better look and crouched down, looking over the odd patch of grass. Double D was surprised to find that the grass looked very much different than the rest in the woods, even though it was the exact same kind.

"Very peculiar…" Double D muttered, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

Eddy cocked an eyebrow at the sock-head. "What? You onto something Double D?" Eddy sighed in dry curiosity since they didn't look like they were going to get to their scam anytime soon.

"Come take a look at this, fellows." Double D said.

His friends came over and looked at the grass, but unlike their observant friend, they didn't notice anything weird about it.

"So? It's stupid patch of stupid grass in the stupid woods. Big whoop." Eddy said dully.

"Yep, it's grass alright." Ed said with a smile.

"But not everything is as it seems fellows. Take a closer look," Double D said, "Doesn't it look much greener and fuller than the other blades around it?"

Eddy and Ed cocked quizzical eyebrows, but obliged and looked closer at the patch of greenery. Much to their surprise, Double D was right. The patch of grass looked much thicker and a brighter shade of green than the rest on the ground.

"Well would a look at that…" Eddy whispered, "Now how did that happen?"

"I honestly haven't the faintest idea Eddy, but I have a feeling it may have something to do with this little bobble." Double D said, holding it up.

Eddy thought for a moment, and then a big light bulb appeared over his head. He rubbed his hands together deviously. He could use this for a scam… maybe call it a rental fertilizer, or something like that. It was the 'perfect' (in his opinion) scam.

Not noticing his shorter cohort's devious expression, Double D handed Ed back the ball. "Ed, you may want to put that back." He advised.

Eddy stared incredulously at Double D. He could not believe what his friend was saying!

"How can you say that, Double D?!" Eddy exclaimed, "Just think of what this kinda thing could sell for! A grass-growing ball? It's a gold mine!"

Double D crossed his arms. "Is that all you think about Eddy? Money?" He asked.

"Sometimes I think about jawbreakers too, and we need money to get jawbreakers! That ball could be our meal ticket!" Eddy said, getting frustrated with his smart friend.

"But it's not ours to keep Eddy." Double D defended, "And why are you suddenly so interested in it? A few minutes ago, you didn't want much anything to do with it."

Double D fidgeted with his fingers. Truthfully he just wanted to get away from the thing. Although it was fascinating, Double D couldn't help but feel uneasy with the thing around. He just had a bad feeling about it.

"Well times change!" Eddy retorted. He couldn't like Sock-head ruin this perfect scam of his!

While his friends continued to argue, Ed started playing with the ball, throwing it up in the air and then catching it again. Ed continued to play until he saw the button on the ball again. Ed cocked his head to the side, and let his curiosity get the better of him.

Ed smiled widely. "What does this button do?" He asked as his index finger inched closer to the button in question.

Eddy and Double D fighting about what to do with the ball and turned to their dim friend. Ed's finger was now half a millimeter away from the ball.

"Ed, what are you doing?" Double D asked as he walked over and tried to pull Ed's arm away from the ball, "Please go put that back where you found it."

"Ah, what do you know Sock-head?" Eddy snapped as he went over and tried to push Ed's am back to push the button, "Let the Lump keep the darn thing already."

"But Eddy, this doesn't belong to Ed. S-someone may have left it here and is looking for it." Double D said with a pull.

"Well I say 'finders keepers, losers weepers'!" Eddy snapped with a pull.

Then a tug-of-war began between the two Eds as they tried to either help Ed push the button or stop Ed from pushing the button. Poor Ed was being tossed from side to side as his friends continued to pull on his arm. If Ed or his two friends had been paying more attention, they would've noticed that the ball was starting to glow… it started off soft and low, but then it started to grow…

"Well, we should at least try to return it!" Double D said, now getting impatient.

"No way! We already tried that when we found Ed's key!" Eddy exclaimed with one last harsh pull of Ed's arm.

That harsh pull did it. Ed's finger came in contact with the ball. The Eds froze in place, waiting to see what would happen next. A few minutes of tense silence passed by…

Eddy and Double D suppressed gasps when the ball's glowing suddenly became noticeable. Suddenly, much to their surprise, the ball suddenly grew to twice the size of a fist and opened with a small half-clicking, half-whooshing noise.

Then it happened.

A blinding light burst from the ball. It engulfed everything and forced the Eds to shield their eyes with their free hands. The world started shaking violently around them. The three preteens was so startled, he would have dropped the ball if it wasn't somehow stuck to their hands.

"What's happening?!" Double D yelled.

"I don't know!" Eddy exclaimed, "But it can't be good!"

If only Eddy knew how right he was. Before any of the boys knew what was happening, they felt themselves being lifted up in the air, as if they were levitating. Eddy and Double D screamed in surprise and fear, but Ed seemed almost unaffected. Ed thought it was cool, but the same didn't go for his friends.

"Cool!" Ed awed as he flipped around in mid-air.

"Not cool, Ed!" Eddy and Double D shouted in dismay.

Eventually their eyes adjusted to the light, and they could see. They opened their eyes, and their jaws went slack. What they saw was not their home town of Peach Creek, or the woods near it for that matter. It looked like some kind of big and swirling vortex that flickered slightly.

"Oh… my… word…" Double D whispered.

"Wow-whe big." Ed said.

"Okay, I'd like to get off this ride now!" Eddy said in frustration.

Then the world suddenly stopped. Everything went pitch black. The Eds looked around. Even thought they couldn't see anything in the sudden darkness, they knew they were still close by to each other.

"Where… where are we?" Double D asked.

"Hello?" Ed asked, his voice making an echo, "Echo! My name is Ed!"

"What the…?" Eddy asked, "Guys where you?"

"Eddy? I can't see anything… Is Ed still here?" Double D said.

"I'm as helpless as a kitten in a tree!" Ed exclaimed in dopey glee.

"Yep, Ed's here." Eddy deadpanned.

But before anyone could say anything else, something else happened, something none of the boys would have expected.

"_Gah!_" They all shouted.

The Eds all screamed loudly in pain, even Ed. They had good reason too. Something, they didn't know what, was causing them excruciating pain. It was terrible. It felt like something was tearing away at the very fabric of their beings. Their bones twisted, their skin felt hot like fire, everything hurt like mad. It was like they were being changed, changed into something unnatural, something… wrong.

"Make it stop!" Eddy screamed.

Their screaming didn't stop, even when the pain made their bodies go numb. When the Eds couldn't scream anymore, they just took deep, hoarse breaths from where they were suspended, a few tears of pain strained across their faces, which Eddy felt personally ashamed for.

They then felt the sensation like they were falling… falling into the dark abyss. They couldn't scream anymore, they couldn't move, they could do nothing. So they just let it happen.

They fell and fell and fell… seemingly into oblivion. They all felt lightheaded from the enormous strain put on their bodies. After what felt like an eternity where they teetered on the bridge of consciousness, they all blacked out.

-----

At precisely seven in the morning, all was peaceful along Route 102. Taillows were chirping, Zigzagoons were happily playing near a pond, and the grassy woods gently swayed to the quiet rhythm of the forest.

The peace was rudely interrupted when a sudden chiming noise filled the air, followed by a bright flash of light. Forest Pokémon were startled by the sudden light and ran away as fast as they could. When the light suddenly died down, there wasn't a single sign of life in sight, except for one single small Pokémon.

This Pokémon looked like a small cream-colored cat with brown and black ears, brown hind paws, a brown tipped tail that was curled at the end, and an odd gold charm on its forehead. It was a Pokémon known as a Meowth.

However, there was something odd about the Pokémon. It wore a yellow collar around its neck with a red stripe going down one side, and a silver chain attached on the other.

The little Meowth groaned tiredly and rolled on its side. It snoozed peacefully on the bed of grass, as if nothing had even happened.

-----

At exactly seven in the morning, it was the same story for Route 117. Water Pokémon played near the ponds, and Doduo and Roselia sauntered through the tall grass, trying to hide from passer-by trainers.

The normal quaint quiet in the early morning was shattered by the chiming of a bell, followed by a sudden burst of blinding light. The Pokémon were startled away, but oddly enough, no trainer seemed to even notice. The light eventually faded, and here wasn't a soul in sight, except for one lone figure in the tall grass.

It was a Pokémon, one that looked like a little brown fox. It had long ears, a bushy, cream-colored tipped tail, a soft cream mane around its neck, and appeared it could have walked on all fours if it weren't asleep. It was a Pokémon called an Eevee.

There was something off about the Pokémon though. It wore a strangely oversized, black sock-like hat.

The Eevee groaned drearily and let out a small yawn as it slumbered away as if nothing was wrong.

-----

At just a second or two past seven AM, well it was the same situation for Route 104. Shroomish as well as other kinds of forest and field Pokémon enjoyed the Petalburg Woods serene nature beauty.

But then (yep, you guessed it) a sudden uncommon chiming sound filled the air, followed a sudden bright flash of light. Of course, the Pokémon nearby were startled and ran away, scared for their lives. When the light finally died down, there wasn't a soul in sight, save for one that is.

By the look of it, it looked like a yellow, mouse-like Pokémon. It had long ears with black tips, red circles on its cheeks, brown streaks on its back, and a yellow zig-zag tail, almost as if it was shaped like a lightning bolt. It was Pokémon called a Pikachu.

But there was something not quite right about the Pikachu. It wore a green collar-like bandana around its neck with green stripes going down its sides.

The electric mouse Pokémon yawned loudly and got more comfortable on the bed of grass, a bit of drool coming from its mouth, blissfully unaware of what had taken place.

-----

Little did anyone, human or Pokémon suspect what had taken place at 7:00 in the morning. No one had any way of knowing that two worlds had collided, and in the most _unimaginable_ way possible.

-----

**TB**: And here we are. The dream sitch cliché enough for ya? It is? Yay. :D What do you think happened to the Eds? ':( If you can't guess, well then tough cookies 'cause I'm not telling until next chapter:P Stayed tuned for next time!

P.S. Yes, repetitions galore on this. Just trying to prove my point that I believe the Eds are individuals. Best pals, but still individuals. They're their own people so they get their own points of view. :) Just wanted to clarify that.

Read and Review!


	3. Chapter 2: A Meowth by any Other Name

**TB**: Hey there guys :) Miss me? (cricket chirps) (Sweatdrops) Okay, I know I haven't updated this in like, what? Forever? I'm sorry for that :3 Don't be mad at me, please? Any-dang-way, time to really get this party started! XD Yeah!

-----

Now still early in the morning, we come upon the town of Little Root once more. Everyone was up and about, taking care of chores, playing out in the meadows, or heading off to Professor Birch's to get their new Pokémon… well, almost everyone anyways.

At the Ankoku residence, Riku groaned in exasperation as he knocked on the door to Zoey's room.

"What is taking her so long…?" He asked himself, "Hey Zoey! You have to get up quickly and get going, or else you won't get your starter Pokemon!"

The only answer he got was some incoherent mumbling through the door.

Riku sighed. "That girl could sleep through a hurricane, I swear. Well, might as well let her sleep. She's in a worse mood when drowsy than when she's late."

With that, Riku went downstairs to make breakfast. Meanwhile, in Zoey's room, we find the little trainer snoozing the day away, happily dreaming of what Pokémon she would get (if she would just get up and get going already). She rolled onto her side, getting closer to the edge of her bed, and mumbled in her sleep.

"Yeah… go get 'em … Torchic…" Zoey muttered sleepily.

She rolled even closer to the edge of her bed as she muttered…

"I choose you… Treeko…"

Now she was dangerously close to falling off the bed…

"Let's show them… what we can do… Mudkip-"

And with one more roll, gravity did its work.

Zoey squealed in a start as she fell off her bad, covers skewed now between her (on the floor) and the bed. A thud penetrated the former quiet of her room. A very hard thud. Zoey groggily opened her grass green eyes half-way, which were spinning from disorientation.

"Ow…" Zoey muttered as she sat up and rubbed her paining head, "How did that happen-?"

Zoey stopped herself mid thought, her mind suddenly registering a dreadful thought. She shot up from the floor and looked at her alarm clack. Getting a good look at it, her jaw went slack in shock.

The clock read 8:07 AM.

Back with Riku in the kitchen, he was currently making scrambled eggs on toast with a side of hash browns, humming to himself as he cooked. He stopped for a moment to look at the clock above the counter. Smirking to himself, he began counting down for some reason.

"And three… two… one." Riku muttered dryly.

"_AAAAAGGGGHH!!_" He heard Zoey scream from upstairs, "I'm _so_ late!"

Riku's smirk widened with a roll of his eyes. "Right on cue."

The platinum-haired father heard tumbles, stomps, various angry curses and other frustrated sounds as he continued to prepare breakfast. He chuckled to himself when he heard Zoey scream in exasperation (he guessed she might have stubbed her toe on the foot of her dresser again). He was just about done with preparing breakfast and setting the table when Zoey scampered swiftly down the stairs.

"Good to see you're up bright and early." Riku said sarcastically as he put breakfast on the table just as a messily-dressed Zoey bolted to the door to put on her shoes.

"Not funny dad!" Zoey snapped.

"So, you want to eat breakfast before you go? It's your favorite, eggs on toast with hash browns." He said in a sing-song voice.

Zoey was just about to bolt out of the door, but froze when she heard 'egg, toast and hash browns'. Zoey looked back at the delicious-looking food, her mouth watering. She let out a frustrated groan, running her finger through her hair.

"That's just mean." Zoey whined angrily.

And on that note, she bolted out of the door, and to Professor Birch's laboratory. She didn't bother to look back as Riku walked casually up to the front doorway, smirking in triumph.

"How about I put yours in the fridge?" He called after his daughter, "You can eat it when you come back!"

Zoey's face brightened up and she smiled back over her shoulder, waving thankfully to her amused father.

"Please and thank you!" Zoey called back.

Riku watched his daughter disappear from view, a proud yet amused smirk on his face. Once Zoey was no longer seeable, Riku chuckled to himself with a shake of his head. He then went inside, shutting the door behind him.

-----

Later at Professor Birch's Laboratory, a middle aged man stood in front of it, waving the three trainers who had just gotten their starter Pokémon (Zoey not one of the three), shouting "good luck"s, "be careful"s and other encouraging words to the new trainers. The man waving goodbye to the young trainers was Professor Birch himself.

Once the trainers had gone out of view, Birch stopped waving and sighed in content. However, a sudden thought crossed his mind. He began to look left and right, as if searching for something (or someone).

Birch scratched his head in puzzlement. "I was almost certain the Riku's young one would be coming by today to pick up her Pokémon. She seemed so eager too." Birch thought out loud. He then said with a sigh, "I guess she must have changed her mind. Children can be so fickle nowadays-"

"Wait!!"

The Professor's monologue was interrupted by a sudden loud call, coming from somewhere not too far from his lab.

"What?" Birch asked himself, shielding his eyes from the sun as he scanned the direction the shout come from. He squinted as the sight of a figure running like mad in his direction.

Once Birch realized who it was, he gasped. "Zoey?" He asked out loud.

"Professor Birch! Wait!" Zoey cried, sprinting like no tomorrow.

"Zoey! Stop, wait! You're coming in too fast!" Birch exclaimed.

_BAM!_ Too late. Zoey ran right into Birch, resulting in the Professor to fall back. Once the dust had cleared, the two groaned loudly in pain from awkward heap on the ground, Professor Birch's eyes swirling dizzily.

"Oww…" Zoey and Professor Birch both mumbled in pain.

Wincing in pain, Zoey looked down at the professor she had just rammed into. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and chuckled feebly.

"Uh… hey there Professor Birch. Long time no see?" She said weakly.

Professor Birch just sighed in a deadpan, his head propped up on his palm.

------

Meanwhile, on a certain grassy Route not too far away from Little Root…

The short boy allowed a single pain-filled groan escape past his parted lips. His head was pounding in his skull, not showing any signs of quitting. Worse yet, his stomach felt like it had been tied up in knots, let the knots be undone, and then retied just to spite him.

Eddy groggily opened his eyes, having to squint and blink at the unexpected change in lighting. Once his eyes properly adjusted to the bright azure sky and sunlight, he yawned and groaned tiredly.

"Ugh… aw man…" He groaned from where he lay.

Eddy tried to make himself sit up, but felt too tired to even move. Lacking the energy to do anything, Eddy decided to just lie there, lazing the day away. The quiet, wooded environment around him made him feel at peace. A soft breeze blew against his face, relaxing him.

"Ah…" He sighed in content, "That feels nice…"

Eddy's expression then shifted from content and at peace to puzzled and confused. Something wasn't right… when did he get there in the first place?

At first drawing a black on the situation, Eddy dug into the deep recesses of his mind, trying to find the reason for him to be out in the middle of the woods. Why was he even here in the first place?

His eyes widened at realization. "Oh yeah, the scam! I _totally_ forgot about that." He said to himself.

With some difficulty, Eddy forced himself out of his sleeping position, and finally managed to sit up. With another yawn, Eddy stretched him tired limbs and shoulders. Once more awake, Eddy sat up, staring at what he usually expected to find in the woods near to the Cul-de-Sac: trees, trees, (maybe a bush or two) and more trees. Eddy nodded at the surroundings, and folded his arms across his chest.

'_I can't put my finger on it, but for some reason… I feel a bit off today._' He thought as he stood up.

"Ah well," Eddy said out loud, "Probably nothin'."

Eddy then forced himself to stand and started strolling past the… abnormally _tall_ blades of grass. Not that he noticed. He just kept on looking and walking… somewhat awkwardly. He must've been more tired than he thought (which was pretty tired since he had passed out for some reason or other).

"Hey Double D! Ed!" He called out, "Come on guys! You here?"

No answer. Eddy groaned in exasperation. They ditched him.

"Great… Where did those two slackers head off to?" He asked out loud, taking some quick looks around him.

Eddy sighed in disappointment and massaged his forehead. They had a scam to get going for Pete's sake! Now was not the time for them to be slacking. This was just so typical. _Great_, just flippin' _great_.

As he mentally cursed the absence of his two lackeys while simultaneously massaging his forehead, Eddy realized something that didn't seem right to him. His forehead was… hairy.

Eddy blinked in confusion. "What the…?"

Curiosity getting the better of him, Eddy started feeling around his face. Much to his surprise, the rest of it was hairy too… well not really hairy, more like fuzzy. They moved slowly at first, but then more quickly and panicky. As they moved around, they fell upon something on his forehead. It felt like there was a metal plate or a coin or something like that attached to his forehead.

"What the-?!" Eddy exclaimed in a panic.

His eyes bulging in surprise, Eddy slowly pulled his shaky hands away from his face so he could get a good look at them. His jaw went slack. He stared in shock at his three fingered hands... err should I say paws?

"B-but… but how?!" Eddy shouted, now very freaked out, "What? Who? When? Where? Huh?!"

Eddy quickly backed away, accidentally tripping over his own feet and stumbling back. Shivering in fear, Eddy tried to get back up, but during his scared mind-set he just ended up stumbling even more until he just plain fell flat on his face.

Eddy groaned as he tried to get up. He was only able to stand on his hands and knees, staring in dismay at the tall blades of grass as he tried to think strait.

"This… this has to be a dream." Eddy muttered to himself, "There's no… there's just no way this can be real…"

He whirled his head around frantically and saw a small pond nearby.

Feeling desperate, Eddy forced his shivering form over to the small pond and slashed the green water in his face, determined to wake himself up from this nightmare (despite the it being green and obviously not very sanitary).

"C'mon wake up," Eddy whimpered as he splashed his face frantically, "Wake up!"

Now soaking wet, Eddy just sat there, crouched next to the pond and breathing hard. He kept his eyes closed, praying to God that the green pond water had done the trick.

Not feeling any different, Eddy forced himself to pry one eye open. At first he just saw the ripples he had made with his splashing undulate. Once they eventually subsided, Eddy was able to see his reflection in the water. His heart stopped.

What he saw was not the short, three-haired boy he had seen in his bathroom mirror earlier that morning. What sat in its place was an odd cat-like creature with cream-colored fur, brown and black ears, a gold charm on its forehead, and a tail that curled up and was brown at the end. To top it all off, it also wore a yellow collar with a red stripe and a looped chain attached to the side.

"…Huh?" Eddy finally asked himself.

He felt around his neck. Sure enough, there was a collar around his neck. He looked at the rest of his body, and sure enough it was the same at the reflection.

Letting reality set in, Eddy stared in both shock and uncertainty at the visage in the pond water. He figured this was some sort of trick. I mean, that couldn't really be him, right? This was all some kind of joke. Yeah, that was it! Eddy laughed to himself for letting him get so freaked out like that…

But then he asked himself in his mind, '_Why does it all feel so _real?'

Eddy nervously moved closer to the water to inspect the matter further. Much to the boy's surprise, the cat in the water moved forward along with him. Eddy blinked unsteadily. Okay… He moved back. The reflection moved back. He leaned to the side. It leaned to the side.

"Is… Is that really me?" He asked out loud, furrowing his brow, "B-but how did-?" The reflection furrowed its brow too.

A bit annoyed at the reflection copying him, Eddy made a funny face at it, but the reflection did the same. He stuck his tongue out, and so did the reflection. Now very ticked off, Eddy stood up and stormed off from the pond in a huff. Five seconds later however, he bolted back to the water and made yet another goofy face, but came in too fast and fell into the murky pond water with a _splash_.

"Wagh!" He sputtered as he flailed about in the water. He quickly swam to back to the edge of the bank and jumped back to the grassy shore.

Drenched from head to tail, Eddy spat out some of the pond water he had accidentally swallowed. He shuddered in disgust. _Yuck_, murky green pond water. Then, before he knew what he was doing, Eddy started to lick the water off of his paws like a cat would normally do. Eddy's eyes widened at the sudden realization.

"_Pthftht!_ Blegh!" Eddy spat out, "Aw man! Why the heck did I just do that?! Gross!"

Once Eddy had finally gotten the taste of cat hair and pond water out of his mouth, he just sat there on the grass, soak cold to the bone. He looked at himself, feeling awkwardly helpless.

Okay, he was in the middle of the woods, his friends were nowhere to be seen, he had somehow managed to get himself turned into a cat-like… thing, and now he was freezing cold and wet. Eddy mentally thanked god that no one from the Cul-de-Sac (a certain cap-wearing jock in particular) was seeing him like this. Now that would just be plain embarrassing. Despite that, this was one of the worst days of Eddy's life

But the bigger question of Eddy's day was, "Can today _get_ any worse?"

Eddy was so busy moping that he failed to notice a pair of blood red eyes, watching him hungrily like a hawk in the shadows…

Apparently today _could_ get worse.

-----

Her shoulders slumped and her head hung low, Zoey dejected trudged down the dirt road of Route , muttering about how her life was just so unfair.

Her alarm clock had picked the _worst_ day to give out on her. Because that stupid contraption didn't wake her up early enough, she arrived at the professor's lab too late. She missed her chance to get a starter Pokémon. Man, life was so unfair!

Zoey sighed at her dumb luck, her pouty gaze cast downward at the dusty dirt road. She swung her blue bag over her right shoulder and jammed her free fist into her pocket.

"Well," She said, pulling out a pokéball from her pocket, "At least I was able to make a back-up plan."

-----

-_Flashback; 15 minutes ago_-

Outside of Professor Birch's laboratory, everything was quiet and peaceful. A Taillow nestled itself on a nearby tree branch to eat some Peacha berries. It had just finished eating one when something very loud penetrated the morning air.

"_WHAT!?_"

Startled beyond all belief, the Taillow squawked an unhappy "Tail!" and flew away to find a much more peaceful place to roost.

Meanwhile, in the Professor's lab, said Professor Birch nodded his head gravely at the flabbergasted young blue-haired girl in front of him.

"I'm terribly sorry for breaking this to you Zoey, but I'm afraid it's too late." The Professor said, "You know how the old saying goes. 'The early Pidgeotto gets the Catterpie."

Zoey let out an exasperated groan, slouching miserably onto the Professor's couch, her head thrown back.

"Aw Jeez…" She whined, "How am I supposed to become a trainer now?"

Birch looked at the preteen sympathetically, scratching his chin in deep thought. There had to be some way for her to get a Pokémon. The Professor pushed his expertise and brain power to the limit to think of a solution. Then a small light bulb appeared over his head.

"That's it!" He exclaimed with a snap of his fingers.

Zoey yelped in surprise and turned to the suddenly eager Professor. "W-what? What is it?" She asked.

Professor Birch smiled widely. "I think I just found a way to solve your problem." He beamed.

Zoey's eye widened in surprise. "Really?" She gasped.

The Professor nodded and walked over to one of his many file cabinets. He ran through a few drawers, searching for something. Zoey shifted excitedly, hoping that Birch was not joking about this. Once he had searched his last cabinet, he let out a hearty laugh and pulled out a thick package. He opened the package and quickly walked back over to the preteen.

"First, you'll need to take these with you." Professor Birch explained.

Zoey cocked an eyebrow at the contents of the package; a small red rectangular contraption, and several red and white balls.

"What are those things Professor?" She asked warily.

"Well first of all, this," Professor Birch began by holding up the red rectangle, "Is called a PokéDex. A very handy machine you'll need for your journey-"

"But how can I go on my journey if I don't have a Pokémon?" Zoey interrupted with a whine.

"I was getting to that, my eager young friend." Professor Birch said sternly, quieting the excited youth, "No, as I was saying, the PokéDex is very handy. It will help you determine what kind of Pokémon you will meet along the way. Simply point it at a Pokémon, and the PokéDex will provide the information you wish to know about it."

The girl's grass green eyes sparkled in amazement and she let out an awed 'ohh'. She took the PokéDex from the Professor, staring at in wonder. Could this single piece of machinery really do all of that?

"And these," Birch continued, picking up the small red and white balls, "Are called pokéballs. You use them to capture a Pokémon. The way you use them is pretty straightforward. Simply toss to ball at the Pokémon."

Zoey let out another 'ohh' and nodded in understanding. She took the pokéballs from Professor Birch and put all of her knew gadgets into her blue backpack.

"These things are cool Professor," Zoey said with a worried look, "But how are they supposed to help me get a Pokémon? Do you want me to go out and catch one for myself?"

The Professor sagely waved his index finger back and forth. "Not quite Zoey. I am going to go send you out to catch a Pokémon, but not by yourself." He explained.

The sage-like professor then pulled out a photograph out of his jacket pocket, quickly handing it to Zoey. The girl cocked her head to the side curiously as she inspected the picture. In it was Professor Birch with a small family of three, like Zoey's. What caught her attention the most was the pre-teen boy standing in front of the Professor and the woman (most likely the mother).

The boy looked no older than Zoey herself. He wore a cocky smirk on his face, his thumb pointing confidently at his chest. He had spiked, dark crimson hair, and darkly shaded golden brown eyes. The clothes he wore were much to be desired: a pair of ridiculous-looking goggles with thick lenses and green straps around the crown of his forehead, a black shirt that had a red flame design on both of the tips of its sleeves and at the end of his shoulders, all of which worn over a blue collared shirt, a pair of baggy khaki carpenter pants, and white and navy blue tennis shoes. Zoey arched her eyebrow further as she rescanned the photo over and over.

"His name is Sonar." Birch said, making the girl look up from the photo, "He's my son."

Zoey nearly fell over in shock. "Your son?!" She exclaimed, "But he looks nothing like you!"

"I know." Birch smiled sheepishly, "He gets most of his looks from my wife's side of the family."

Zoey raised bother her eyes brows. "Oh…" She whispered, looking back at the photo. '_His son, huh?_' She thought.

"Now," Birch continued, "I want you to go out on Routes 102 and 103. I sent him out there earlier to help me with some of my research. With any luck, he'll still be there and be willing to lend you a hand."

Zoey looked back up. "You think so?" She asked.

Birch sighed with a shrug and nodded. The two stood up and walked over to the door. Birch opened it and politely let Zoey leave for Route 102. Zoey heard the Professor sigh in amusement as she dashed down the road with a renewed vigor to meet up with this Sonar.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help more!" She heard him call after her.

She flashed him a determined smile and waved back. "It's alright Professor! You've got research to do after all. I think I can handle this myself now!" She called back.

Once the excited Zoey was out of sight, Professor Birch shook his head with a small smirk, praying for all the luck in the world for the excitable youth.

"Ah, to be young and spirited." He said.

-_End Flashback_-

-----

So there Zoey was. Walking down a dirt road with nothing but the clothes on her back, a backpack full of supplies, and plain hope. The honest-to-every-single-deity-out-there kind of hope, that this Sonar guy would be able to help her out.

But then a thought crossed Zoey's mind. What was Sonar like? Was he polite? Was he a jerk? Would she be able to get along with him or not? Was he good looking? …

Zoey stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide and her face red a tomato. She let out a small startled squeak as her blush rose across her face to her cheeks and ears. She violently shook her head.

Where in the world did that thought come from?! She wasn't supposed to be thinking about guys at a time like this!

The thought still persistent in the back of her mind, Zoey marched onward along the dirt road, coming up on a small forest. Little did she know, Zoey was in for more that what she had bargained for when she stepped foot into the forest.

-----

Eddy, drenched and exhausted from emotional and mental strain, finally collapsed on his back from fatigue. His head was aching even worse than it had before, he was shivering from being cold and wet, but worst of all…

_Grumble…_

He was starving.

Eddy groaned out loud and clutched his now furry belly. In all the excitement, if that's what you want to call it, from getting ready for the previously planned scam, he had forgotten to eat breakfast.

"Aw, great." Eddy mumbled, "That's just what I need right now. Man, what I wouldn't give for a nice, juicy cheeseburger…" Drool trickled on the edge of Eddy's mouth just thinking about food.

Just then, Eddy's ears perked and he shot up, a sudden rustle in the bushes having startled him. His eyes darted left and right, animal instinct somehow kicking in all of a sudden. Then something caught the cat-boy's eye. A small glint of red, coming from a small shrubbery. Eddy glared at the glint. He didn't like unexpected guests unless they were 'pigeons'.

He puffed out his chest and took a step forward, trying to look brave. "Who's there?" He demanded, unsheathing his claws instinctively, "Show yourself!"

There was a long silence, only interrupted by the soft howl of a warm breeze. During the quiet, Eddy couldn't help but let a thought cross his mind. Why was he going on the defensive all of the sudden? It's not like he was in any danger, right? … Right?

A sudden bone-chilling snicker brought Eddy back to reality.

"As you wish…" A sinister voice drawled.

Eddy cocked an eyebrow when the red glint in the shrub flickered. His gut plummeted into his stomach when a huge paw extended out from the bush-like plant and made the ground tremor when it thudded the ground. Eddy felt his throat turn dry, his knees were beginning to knock, and his eyes became wider as a mammoth sized, dog-like creature revealed itself. It slowly sauntered over to the now-very-small-in-comparison-to-the-dog-thing Eddy. Its midnight black and grey fur, not to mention its glaring blood red eyes, sent shivers down the terrified boy's spine. He had to crane his neck to look up at the fang-baring muzzle of the predator. Eddy gulped.

"Uh…" Eddy finally squeaked, sweat dripping down his neck and face, "Heh heh… What's up, big guy?"

The monstrous dog bared it's fangs in an evil smirk at the shaking Ed-boy.

-----

**TB**: Dun-dun-DUUUUUUUN!! DD: Oh-noez! Eddy's in trouble! Will he survive? What will happen to Zoey? And what about Sonar? Find out next chapter (if I ever get of my arse to work on it X3) Hope you liked this chapter.

**Meowth Eddy**: Read and Review!


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